Toy airplane



Aug. 8 1939. I. E. MEAGHER, JR

TOY AIRPLANE Filed Deg. 8, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fie E 255096;; Jr.

5 2334 v Kw/W4 9 Aug.- 8, 1939. I. E. MEAGHER, JR 2,168,653

TOY AIRPLANE Filed Dec. 8, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l7 4 I A 4 I. v

[Pa 1?: lifeqgber J12 Patented Aug. 8, 1939 ismrss if I 2,168,653-

- TOY AIRPLA E Ira E. Meagher, Jr., Minneapolis, Minn. ApplicationDecember 8, 1937, Serial No. 178,711

6 Claims. (o1.-46 '79) My invention provides a toy airplane that may bemade from inexpensive materials, quickly assembled, and which, as a toy,will be efficient in flight. V g g V 5. The toy plane is intended to behand thrown into flight and by various adjustments of a movable partthereof, may be adapted for difierent lines of flight, such as loopingthe loop or distance flight. The entire body of the fuselage is madefrom a single sheet which is preferably a rather stiff or lightcardboard; and the entire wing structure is made from a single sheet,preferably of the same material. At the nose or front end of thefuselage is athin sheet metal keel that l5v reinforces that portionthereof and takes the impact in case the plane strikes an obstruction.

To the front end of the fuselage or body, and

preferably pivoted to the front end of the keel plate, is a;landing gearthat not only serves the 20 purpose indicated by its name, but byforward and rearward adjustments willvary the line of flight of theplanein respect to altitude.

The invention also involves novel features in the manner in which theseveral parts thereof are detachably but securely connected.

A preferred form of the toy plane is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout theseveral views.

30 Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of theimproved plane, some parts being brokenaway;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the complete plane; Fig. 3 is aperspective showing the fuselage 35 or body;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are sections taken, respectively, on the lines 4-4, 55and 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a perspective of the metal keel plate;

Fig. '8 is a plan View showing in flattened out condition the sheet orplate from which the fuselage or body is formed; and

Fig. 9 is a plan View showing the wings as formed from a single sheet orplate.

The body of the fuselage is formed from a single plate or sheet I!)which is adapted to be bent on the longitudinal dotted line a to givethe body a V-shaped form in cross-section and to be bent on the dottedlines I) to form the horizontal stabilizing fins At its rear end, the 50plate In is formed with rudder fins l2 which lie in the planes of thediverging sides of the fuselage when bent into the V-shaped formationindicated. Rearward of its front ends the upwardly extended sides of thefuselage are formed V 55 with upwardly bowed wing-seating edges l3which, at their central portions, have upstanding locklips l4. At thefront and rear ends of the surfaces l3 the sides of the fuselage areformed with undercut notches l5 and overlying lock lugs l6. 5 Thewing-forming plate or sheet ll forms both wings of the plane and closeto but equi-distant from the longitudinal center of the plate are slotsl8 through which the lock lips Id of the fuselage are adapted to beinserted. The front and rear 10.

edges of the central portion of the wing plate are insertable into thenotches l5 and under the lock lugs I6 of the sides of the fuselage orbody; and

to make the interlocking engagement between the fuselage and wingstructure complete, the wing plate is provided with front and rearnotches l9 and intervening spacing lugs or projections 20. The sideflanges of the fuselage, at the apices of the notches, |5, engage in thewing notches l9 while the spacing lugs project between the 20 sides ofthe fuselage and hold the same properlyspread or spaced.

The keel plate above referred to is a thin sheet metal plate 2| that hasa long forwardly extending slot 22 that adapts this keel to straddle thebottom portion of the fuselage leaving a small portion of the said keelprojecting beyond the nose of the fuselage. The front end flanges of thefuselage and the front end of the keel plate 2| are formed withcoincident perforations 23 through 0 which is passed a small pivot pinshown as in the form of a small nut-equipped bolt 24 which af-, fords apivot also for the leading gear. This landing gear may take differentforms and may have one or more wheels, but preferably, and as shown,comprises a substantially triangular light metal bracket or frame 25,the upwardly projecting prongs of which embrace the nose of the fuselageand are pivotally attached thereto and to the front end of the keel 2|by the above noted bolt or pivot element 24. For the application ofwheels to the lower portion of the landing frame 25, there is a lightaxle 26 equipped at its ends with small wheels 21.

To securely hold the keel plate 2| applied to the bottom of the frontend portion of the fuselage, the lower prong thereof is provided withreversely bent clamping ears 28 that are clinched or pressed against thesaid fuselage.

The manner in which the plane will be thrown 5 into flight is quiteobvious. The lower prong of the keel plate 2| projects slightly belowthe bottom of the fuselage so that it affords a convenient portion to beengaged by the thumb and front finger of the throwing hand. This keelplate gives enough weight to the front end of the plane to accelerateits flight under momentum imparted to the plane in the throwing action.

As above stated, the direction of flight, in respect to altitude, may bevaried by adjustments of the so-called landing gear which, as anadditional function, acts as a counterweight or variable balance for theplane. If, for example, the plane is to be thrown for looping action,the landing gear will be rearwardly adjusted. If the plane is to bethrown for a long distance flight, the landing gear will be set in anintermediate direction, but if it is to be given a nose dive, thelanding gear should be forced far forward. Of course, the direction ofthe wind with which the plane is to be thrown will also have somethingto do with the adjustments of the landing gear, but these are matterswhich will soon be learned in practice in the throwing of the plane inaction.

The manner of connecting the wing plate to the fuselage is important.When the plane strikes an obstruction and is brought to a sudden stop,there is a tendency for the wing plate to buckle and release itself fromthe fuselage; but this, in the present structure, is prevented not onlyby the above described duplex interlocking engagement between the frontand rear edges of the wing plate and the flanges of the fuselage, but isfurther prevented by the projecting lips l4 that extend through theclosely engaging slots or slits in the wing plate.

It will be noted that the upwardly curved edges l3 in cooperation withlock notches cause the wing plate to take a concave-convex form incross-section, such as required for efficient flight. This also puts theintervening portion of the wing plate under tension to closely engagewith the overlying lock lugs 16.

From the foregoing, it will be obvious that the toy plane described iscapable of various modifications within the scope of the inventiondisclosed and claimed.

What I claim is:

1. A toy airplane having a fuselage and wings,

the fuselage being formed of a plate bent approximately V-shaped incross section, a bifurcated keel plate embracing the front lower portionof said fuselage with a portion thereof below and a portion projectingforward thereof, and a landing gear pivotally connected to the frontportion of said fuselage and to the front portion of said keel plate bya pivot permitting forward and rearward adjustments of said landinggear.

2. A toy airplane having a fuselage and wings, the fuselage being formedof a plate bent approximately V-shaped in cross section, and abifurcated keel plate embracing the front lower portion of said fuselagewith a. portion thereof below and a portion projecting forward thereof,said keel plate, at its rear end, having clamping ears clinched againstthe exterior of said fuselage.

3. In a toy airplane structure having a fuselage and wings, a landinggear depending from the forward portion of the fuselage, and means forpivotally anchoring the landing gear to the fuselage, for materialforward and rearward pivotal movements, and for frictionally retainingthe same in adjusted position.

4. The structure defined in claim 3 in which the said anchoring means isadjustable to vary the frictional resistance of the landing gear topivotal adjusting movements.

5. The structure defined in claim 3 in which the pivotally anchoredfrictionally retained landing gear is movable pivotally to a materialextent forwardly and rearwardly of a vertical line intersecting the axisof the pivotal anchor.

6. The structure defined in claim 3 in which the pivotally anchoredfrictionally retained landing gear is movable pivotally to a materialextent forwardly and rearwardly of a vertical line intersecting the axisof the pivotal anchor, and in which the said anchoring means isadjustable to vary the frictional resistance of the landing gear topivotal adjusting movements.

IRA E. MEAGHER, JR.

